Page 1159 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 August 1989
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They were explanations in relation to which surely it would have been easy enough to arrange a briefing between the various groupings in this house so that we could have known beforehand what was going on. All in all, I have sincere and grave doubts about the effect of the Commonwealth budget on that of the ACT.
I also note, along with Mr Kaine and Mr Collaery, that in relation to a number of the items that are mentioned in the Commonwealth budget, even though they are nice and easy to understand - in particular, the $67.7m relating to repayment for land - it is simply not on that that money is to be paid to the Commonwealth in this financial year.
In my opinion, the ACT budget bleeds its citizens white and cuts funding on social justice policies quite dramatically, yet here we are, kowtowing to the Commonwealth, forking out almost $70m of taxpayers' money in the first year of self-government, when surely some arrangement can be made for what is undoubtedly a legitimate debt to be paid off over a period.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I will finish my comments there. There is not much more to be said. We will be examining these figures further, hopefully lifting the veil of bureaucratic doubletalk on a lot of these items so that they become clear to us over the next weeks, and hopefully they will be examined in further detail with a full debate on the ACT budget.
MR HUMPHRIES (4.10): Mr Deputy Speaker, I think that some of the previous speakers have been a little harsh on our Chief Minister. I have heard the comments of Mr Kaine, Mr Collaery and Mr Duby, criticising our Chief Minister, but I believe that they are somewhat ill-considered, and I do hope that they will withdraw them.
I believe that the Chief Minister has exhibited extraordinary fortitude, extraordinary strength of purpose, in facing up to the problems of this Federal budget, and she has done so by eschewing the approach of many of her colleagues, her fellow Labor leaders, in the States. Rather than picking up the cudgels, as they have done, and criticising this Keating-Hawke budget, Ms Follett has bravely charted her own course and said, "We are very happy with this budget. We think it is a wonderful budget". So, she has sallied forth, smiling serenely, as Mr Kaine has indicated; she has ignored the blustering gale blowing about her, the howls of complaint, and has exhibited complete equanimity within herself and within her Government. She deserves great credit for that. I think she shows great fortitude.
Look at the things she has had to contend with, Mr Deputy Speaker. There is the $22m locked up by the Federal Government. Rather than say, "What a dastardly deed this is; how terrible it is of the Federal Government to lock away $22m which forms part of the allocation that the
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